Grab a pencil and paper, read the vignettes, and answer the questions below:
A young man goes into a store and desires a pack of chips. He looks carefully around him, puts the pack under his baggy shirt, and walks out of the store with the stolen goods.
A teen boy notices a man with a nice watch across the street. He puts his hooded sweatshirt on, walks across the street, and puts a weapon to the back of the man and demands his watch. The man gives it up, the boy places it on and walks away.
Write down the following descriptions for each scenario:
-His race.
-His age.
-The city in which he lives.
-The reason he committed the robbery.
According to the Moffit text, there may be different reasons underlying the motive of each boy. I initially wanted to delve into stereotypes that the reader may have had about who each of the males may have been, but I believe that discussion to be more effective in person. In the meantime, evaluate your own answers, and see if they were validated by the evidence within the article. It was of interest to me, morever, that Moffitt noted no differences between the race and class (among other factors) of offenders, and I would assume that many people do not believe, inherently, that this could be true, likely evidenced by the answers we would write to the above.
But, I'll move on. The title asks an important question: which part of the cycle contributes to such antisocial behavior? Is the neuropsychological nuances caused by the mother's malnutrition, poor neonatal care, and intoxicants ingested while pregnant? Considering most studies do not take place within the inner-city, it would be difficult to measure the differences experienced between the proportion of low-income children with that of middle- and high-class children. Considering the latter are the groups most often exposed to treatment, and therefore most-likely to be diagnosed with a pathology rather than a social stigma, it is difficult to see whether or not all groups are diagnosed with antisocial behavior in the same way, or even develop it in the same manner.
For example, would trauma be sufficient to affect the neurological component of a child born with relatively normal functioning? Studying Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and Brain Tumor (BT) patients this summer, it is apparent that executive functioning abilities decrease after various treatments like chemotherapy or radiation. Studies indicate that a majority of TBI and BT patients never quite function at the same level of their peers, but we do not see them develop antisocial behavior disorders, even those with the negative environments. I therefore question if maladaptive parenting skills, which may be precipitated by pathology itself, may be a precursor to the neurological deficits that many of these antisocial children develop. And if this is the case, is it truly accurate to say that discrimination is not found between various social groups?
Or do these deficits increase the problems parents face in raising such children? The environmental factors that negatively impact these children is something that is found in many lax or overreactive parenting situations. Such factors contribute negatively to the behavioral outcomes of children, particularly males. When friends draw back, and parents, teachers, and other adults continue to penalize, a vicious cycle of negative socialization occurs. I am reminded of my students who were not "good" enough to go out on field trips. They were therefore chastised in class, not shown positive examples, and therefore more likely to commit such offenses again. This same socialization occurs within juvenile systems as well as jails, where we continue to offer criminals new negative social networks, as well as more opportunities to act upon their impulses with their new found knowledge. This environment, mixed with such neuropsychological deficits, leads to the taxonomical positions posed by Moffit in one of the most interesting articles we've read thus far!
I have soooo much to say about this article - I also can't wait to discuss how the differences between identity may shape the face of the pathology or diagnosis in class.
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